Today
we welcome Steampunk writer Gareth Torrance. His vivid world’s and in depth
character development has earned him a spot as both a short fiction superstar
and as an outstanding novelist.
Q.
What drove you to write in such a fascinating genre such as Steampunk?
A.
To be honest, when I first started building the world that my stories are set
in, I didn’t really know about the Steampunk genre and movement that much.
I
grew up fascinated with science fiction and fantasy, with things like Star
Wars, Ghost in the Shell and Tolkien’s works having a big effect on me. Then,
as I grew a bit older, I started collecting and playing Warhammer 40,000 with
its gothic spaceships and characters. These all sort of merged in my head one
day when I started building my own little world.It
was probably a few of the Final Fantasy games, plus anime like Howl’s Moving
Castle that first made me realize that the world I was making fit into the
Steampunk genre. From there, my love for Steampunk grew, but I didn’t have to
change anything about the world or the stories because, purely coincidentally,
it was already Steampunk.
Q.
You have two short story collections out, The Creature Collection and The
Imperium Collection. How was writing your novel Valkyria a different experience?
A.
Valkyria was a completely different kettle of fish, as it were. The short
stories in my collections came into my head and I just sat down and wrote the
first draft for each of them in single sittings. Valkyria, on the other hand,
took me a few years to actually get finished. The first iteration lacked focus,
as I tried to cram the entire story of Einar and Alexia into it.This
bloated the book with too many point of view characters and widened the story
too much for one book, almost making it impossible to keep track of what was
happening.So
I ditched that, and started planning out all the different events of the
overall story based on the point of view characters, and used those events to
create the chapters. Then, I chose which order the chapters would go in, and
where to end Valkyria. I actually had to split the story into different books,
finding the best place to end each one that would tie up most of the loose ends
up to that point. Valkyria had to be able to stand on its own.
There
was just so much more planning involved with writing a novel, and at first I
made the rookie mistake of jumping in blind. For anyone who wants to write a
novel; trust me, plan it out first!
Q.
I found it interesting how your short stories all tie together. Each one was
its own story yet it painted a bigger picture of the world of Alexandria. Was
this pre-planned or did it happen naturally?
A. Well, Alexandria itself is actually part of a larger world that I have in my head called Rhythlan. One thing I have always loved about things like Star Wars, the Elder Scrolls or Middle Earth is how detailed and alive the worlds feel.One thing that, for me, can really hold back a fantasy or science fiction story is when it is completed focused on just that one story. Star Wars, even though the Skywalker story is amazing, really benefited from the Expanded Universe, as it made the actual universe of Star Wars feel real. It gave more strength to the conflicts when you were able to see the effects of the conflicts on the rest of the universe.So, with my short stories, I wanted to build up more aspects of the world of Rhythlan, starting with Alexandria. I plan on writing more short stories that deal with different plaes within Rhythlan, similar to how The Musketeer’s Dream deals with people from Three Peaks, a neighboring nation of Alexandria.In fact, the next collection I plan to write will be set in Ethoria, a kingdom roughly 2000 miles south east of Alexandria’s borders, across what is known as the Dead Lands that separates the north west and south east of Rhythlan.
Q.
What tactics do you use to overcome the dreaded “writer’s block”? Any tips for
the fellow writers out there?
A.
It’s probably not the same for everyone, but for me at least, writer’s block
tends to come when I either lose focus by trying to write too many different
things, or when I run out of inspiration.So,
I tend to take a break from the story and sit back on the sofa and watch TV
shows or movies that first gave me the inspiration for the story. For example,
a large amount of inspiration for the Creatures in Rhythlan came from my love
of The Walking Dead, so I would watch a few episodes of that, or read a couple
of issues of the comic book.Or
I would go on the computer and play a game that helps inspire me, like Bioshock
or Fallout. Getting this focused inspiration back tends to help me realign
myself with the story and start plodding on with the writing again.
Q.
Have you ever tried to write in a genre other than Steampunk? If so how did
that differ? Any advice for anyone trying to break into the Steampunk genre?
A. Actually, I am also working on a cyberpunk, dystopian story. It’s just the bare bones at the moment, in the initial planning stage, but already its very different. The focus of the story changes so much. Steampunk as both a genre and a movement has aesthetics at the heart of it. From the way you dress, the materials that are used to build the world, and the way the inhabitants act. But with other genres, the emphasis on aesthetic is not so integral to the story. It is still highly important to create the right visuals for the story, but they are not as important as the story itself.So, with that said, my advice for anyone wanting to get into the Steampunk genre is to research it a lot! The visual aspect of the subculture and genre itself are of high importance, as is the story itself. Look into Charles Babbage, and read up on Jules Verne. Don’t watch Wild Wild West (the Will Smith movie at least). Just research the subculture as much as you can. If you are in the UK, go to the Lincoln Steampunk Festival. If not, find ones near you and go to them. Get yourself as deep into Steampunk as you can, so that when you start to write it, you get it right.It’s the little details that really build it up. Like using a velocycle instead of a motorbike. So again, I cannot stress how important research can be!
Thank
you for your time and we look forward to seeing more from you in the near
future. Check out his full length steampunk work "Valkyria" available now
